Unlike traditional Battle Droids, regarded as mindless, mechanized soldiers, OOM-9 received specific programming to serve as a Command Droid for the Trade Federation. When Neimoidian Viceroy Nute Gunray aligned himself with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, an invasion on Naboo was imminent, and OOM-9 would organize and lead the Trade Federation forces. In early battles, the Federation's armies achieved significant success, garnering victory at the First Battle of Spinnaker, followed by the capture of the capital city, Theed. OOM-9 and his army went on to engage the Gungan Grand Army, rallied by the Naboo Queen, Padmé Amidala, in the Battle of the Grassy Plains. While his forces made progress on the ground, the Naboo Space Battle raged in the skies. In spite of OOM-9s efficient leadership, the destruction of the Trade Federation's droid control ship brought an abrupt and definite end to his seemingly successful campaign.

One thing we have to consistently commend Sideshow Collectibles for is that they fervently work through their learning curves. Every time they introduce a new body type they are inevitably things about it that need perfecting and updating. And with very few exceptions, they do improve them to satisfying standards that the demanding public finds acceptable. The Armored body type and the Prometheus body type both went through some transitions to bring them to where they are today. And the same is really true for the B1 Battle Droid body type. When the Battle Droid (Infantry) two-pack was released, there were some things that frustrated collectors about them. The “thumbs” on the hands were so loose that they were useless for securing the droid blaster. The post to increase the length of the droid’s neck was so stiff it felt like the figure was going to break if you used the force required to position it all the way as intended. Arm joints were frozen and replacements needed to be sent out. And there were a few other joints that were too loose to allow the Battle Droid to attain all the positions it should have.

Well, we’re happy to report that Sideshow made some enhancements to the OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander that should elate fans of the Separatist Droid Army. This B1 Battle Droid still isn’t 100% perfect, but it’s a whole lot closer than its predecessors. The biggest successful enhancement in our eyes is that the thumbs are much tighter. This means that OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander can hold both his droid blaster and macrobinoculars with relative ease. It’s something that bothered us on the Battle Droids (Infantry) figures and it’s quite comforting to see that they addressed this so quickly in the line. We expect there to be plenty of Battle Droid releases in the Militaries Of Star Wars line, so it’s great that the issue was caught so early. The OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander also has enhanced head articulation which aides his lateral head movement incredibly. Also of note, there are other points of articulation that have been tightened up to hold their positions much more effectively. Together, all of these updates have increased the overall quality of this body type significantly. We are impressed and enthralled by the success of them.

OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander is perfectly accessorized. From the feedback we receive from readers on our Sideshow Collectibles reviews, we seem to be in the minority with preferring a reduced number of accessories (especially hand attachments). But we are still thankful to report that this B1 Battle Droid comes with a removable antenna, droid blaster and macrobinoculars. It’s perfect! The figure comes packaged in the smallest Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 Scale Figures box to date. It actually alarmed us how small the shipping box was. We didn’t expect Sideshow Collectibles to ship this figure folded up in a box. But that too is also a perfect decision in our eyes. Priced at $64.99, the OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander is much cheaper than most other 1:6 Scale Figures, but still out of range for army-building. We do hope they keep the price in this range and continue to beat out some additional versions, especially Hasbro's Battle Droids (based on the Battle of Kashyyyk) and the Battle Droid driver in addition to the many others seen in The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Battlefront. If they could figure out a way for collectors to attach the droid blaster to their backs, then consider this sculpt flawless. But if they don’t, this is still a fantastic figure as is.

Collector Notes

OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander

Announcement Date: April 26, 2012

Pre-order Date: May 3, 2012

Status: OOM-9 Battle Droid Commander is a repaint of the Battle Droid body type from 2012's Battle Droids (Infantry) two-pack. This time the figure has undergone some enhancements including tighter thumbs to hold accessories better as well as slight retooling updated to the neck post to give the head the ability to rotate with more range of motion.